Supporting rack

ABSTRACT

A supporting rack may include a supporting surface, a base, a side supporting member, a center supporting member and a position adjusting unit. In one embodiment, the side supporting member has two side supporting arms, and an upper end of each side supporting arm is pivotally connected with an upper locking unit on one side of the supporting surface and a lower end thereof is pivotally connected to a corresponding side of the base. More specifically, the lower end of each side supporting arm is also connected to a lower locking unit on the base, which is configured to provide not only a stronger support for the supporting surface, but also lock the lower end of the side supporting arms. Similarly, each side supporting arm can be locked through the upper locking unit at a predetermined position according to the user&#39;s preference.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 (e) to U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/506,752, filed on May 16,2017, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a supporting rack, and inparticular to a supporting rack for electronic devices, the height ofwhich is adjustable according to the user's preference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With fast development of electronic and multimedia technologies,advanced and sophisticated computer, notebook computer and many othermobile electronic devices have been continuously created and widely usedaround every corner in our society. Due to the popularization ofcomputers, most people are dependent on computers. Nowadays, peopleoften use a keyboard, mouse and other computer peripheral equipment toprovide electrical signals to a computer, enabling the computer tooutput the content of the electrical signals through a display screen orprinter. A display screen is a requisite output device of a computer.

However, in our current computer oriented society, large numbers ofpeople find themselves sitting at a desk or workstation for extendedperiods of time. This has resulted in a variety of work related injuriesand loss of productivity. There have also been numerous studiesconducted over the past several years that have identified serioushealth risks associated with prolonged sitting. These include the risksof high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity aswell as back pain and strain. Moreover, sitting shuts down thecirculation of the fat-absorbing enzyme lipase, while standing upengages muscles and promotes the distribution of lipase, which promptsthe body to process fat and cholesterol, independent of the amount oftime spent exercising.

Studies have also shown that alternating between sitting and standingthroughout the day helps to reduce the abovementioned health risks,reduces general fatigue and increases productivity. Therefore, thereremains a need for an apparatus or device that can be used to adjust theheight of the user's computer or laptop to reduce the health riskswithout removing or redesigning entire office space or workstation.

It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a laptopsupporting apparatus which, in large part, remedies the above-describedhealth risks and does so without requiring that an entire desk orworkstation be replaced or retrofitted with an elevating device.

It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a laptopsupporting apparatus which is capable of simple attachment to the top ofan existing desk or workstation and which can provide a platform thatcan be quickly and easily be elevated to enable a user to assume astanding position or lowered to assume a sitting position.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, a supporting rack may include a supporting surface, abase, a side supporting member, a center supporting member, and aposition adjusting unit. In one embodiment, the side supporting memberhas two side supporting arms, and an upper end of each side supportingarm is pivotally connected with an upper locking unit on one side of thesupporting surface and a lower end thereof is pivotally connected to acorresponding side of the base. More specifically, the lower end of eachside supporting arm is also connected to a lower locking unit on thebase, which is configured to provide not only a stronger support for thesupporting surface, but also lock the lower end of the side supportingarms. Similarly, each side supporting arm can be locked through theupper locking unit at a predetermined position according to the user'spreference.

It is important to note that the upper locking unit and lower lockingunit are mechanically engaged with the position adjusting unit, and whenthe position adjusting unit is pressed, the position adjusting unit isdisengaged with both the upper and lower locking units, so the sidesupporting arms can be freely moved to a determined position accordingto the user's preference. When the position of the supporting surface isdetermined, the user can release the position adjusting unit to engagewith the upper locking unit and lower locking unit again.

Thus, when in use, the user can adjust the height of the supporting rackby pressing the position adjusting unit, which would unlock the upperend and lower end of the supporting member. For example, when theposition adjusting unit is pressed, the user can push down thesupporting rack from a higher position to a lower position. When theposition is determined, the user can release the position adjusting unitand each side supporting arm can be locked again through the upperlocking unit and lower locking unit, respectively.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of the supporting rack in thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates another perspective view of the supporting rack inthe present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of the supporting rack in thepresent invention when the height of the supporting rack is adjusted.

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of the supporting rack in thepresent invention when the supporting rack is collapsed to its lowestposition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The detailed description set forth below is intended as a description ofthe presently exemplary device provided in accordance with aspects ofthe present invention and is not intended to represent the only forms inwhich the present invention may be prepared or utilized. It is to beunderstood, rather, that the same or equivalent functions and componentsmay be accomplished by different embodiments that are also intended tobe encompassed within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meaning as commonly understood to one of ordinary skill inthe art to which this invention belongs. Although any methods, devicesand materials similar or equivalent to those described can be used inthe practice or testing of the invention, the exemplary methods, devicesand materials are now described.

All publications mentioned are incorporated by reference for the purposeof describing and disclosing, for example, the designs and methodologiesthat are described in the publications that might be used in connectionwith the presently described invention. The publications listed ordiscussed above, below and throughout the text are provided solely fortheir disclosure prior to the filing date of the present application.Nothing herein is to be construed as an admission that the inventors arenot entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior invention.

As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow,the meaning of “a”, “an”, and “the” includes reference to the pluralunless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in thedescription herein and throughout the claims that follow, the terms“comprise or comprising”, “include or including”, “have or having”,“contain or containing” and the like are to be understood to beopen-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to. As used in thedescription herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of“in” includes “in” and “on” unless the context clearly dictatesotherwise.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. maybe used herein to describe various elements, these elements should notbe limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish oneelement from another. For example, a first element could be termed asecond element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a firstelement, without departing from the scope of the embodiments. As usedherein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one ormore of the associated listed items.

In order to further understand the goal, characteristics and effect ofthe present invention, a number of embodiments along with the drawingsare illustrated as following:

In one aspect, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, a supporting rack 100 mayinclude a supporting surface 110, a base 120, a side supporting member130, a center supporting member 140, and a position adjusting unit 150.In one embodiment, the side supporting member 130 has two sidesupporting arms 131, and an upper end of each side supporting arm 131 ispivotally connected with an upper locking unit 111 on one side of thesupporting surface 110 and a lower end thereof is pivotally connected toa corresponding side of the base 120. More specifically, the lower endof each side supporting arm 131 is also connected to a lower lockingunit 121 on the base 120, which is configured to provide not only astronger support for the supporting surface 110, but also lock the lowerend of the side supporting arms 131. Similarly, each side supporting arm131 can be locked through the upper locking unit 111 at a predeterminedposition according to the user's preference.

It is important to note that the upper locking unit 111 and lowerlocking unit 121 are mechanically engaged with the position adjustingunit 150, and when the position adjusting unit 150 is pressed, theposition adjusting unit 150 is disengaged with both the upper and lowerlocking units 111 and 121, so the side supporting arms 131 can be freelymoved to a determined position according to the user's preference. Whenthe position of the supporting surface 110 is determined, the user canrelease the position adjusting unit 150 to engage with the upper lockingunit 111 and lower locking unit 121 again.

Thus, when in use, the user can adjust the height of the supporting rack100 by pressing the position adjusting unit 150, which would unlock theupper end and lower end of the supporting member 130. For example, whenthe position adjusting unit 150 is pressed, the user can push down thesupporting rack 100 from a higher position as shown in FIG. 1 to a lowerposition as shown in FIG. 2. Namely, the height of the supporting rack100 is determined by the angel between the side supporting arm 131 andthe base 120. When the position in FIG. 2 is determined, the user canrelease the position adjusting unit 150 and each side supporting arm 131can be locked again through the upper locking unit 111 and lower lockingunit 121, respectively. The supporting rack 100 can be further pusheddown as shown in FIG. 3 and totally collapsed as shown in FIG. 4.

Having described the invention by the description and illustrationsabove, it should be understood that these are exemplary of the inventionand are not to be considered as limiting. Accordingly, the invention isnot to be considered as limited by the foregoing description, butincludes any equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A supporting rack comprising a supportingsurface, a base, a side supporting member having two side supportingarms, a center supporting member and a position adjusting unit, whereinan upper end of each side supporting arm is pivotally connected with anupper locking unit on one side of the supporting surface and a lower endthereof is pivotally connected to a corresponding lower locking unit onone side of the base, and a height of the supporting rack is determinedby an angel between the side supporting arm and the base.
 2. Thesupporting rack of claim 1, wherein the position adjusting unit ismechanically engaged with the upper and lower locking units and when theposition adjusting unit is pressed, the position adjusting unitdisengages with the upper and lower locking units so the height of thesupporting rack can be adjusted until the user release the positionadjusting unit to engage with the upper and lower locking units again.